I Need a Little Direction

If you are like me, you are looking at Facebook every day.

And there is a lot to see, especially if you are a cooking/crafting/gardening/decorating sort of person – which I am.

A few months ago I saw a really cool craft that could be used in the garden. It is a decorative piece that can be as personal as you want it to be.

What am I talking about?

My Brand New Sign Post.

Tada!!!!!

Now I know what you are thinking.

I want one too. That is Soooo Cute!!! Was it hard to make?

To be honest it really was not that hard to make. First off, I had the 2x4x8 already standing up in the ground. It was meant to hold up an air conditioner but stayed when the air conditioner died.

The next part was gathering the wood pieces for the name plates. At some point my neighbor was remodeling their house so some slats stayed in my yard. Another neighbor was tearing down wood siding. Some pieces came from the burn pile my husband keeps around.

The next part was even easier. I sanded down those pieces on the side I wanted to paint to make it smooth and accepting of the paint. I ran a damp cloth over each piece to remove dust from the sanding.  Then I made a list of the different places I wanted to put on a sign board.

However, how I did the next part was a part of the learning process. I lettered most of the boards. And that part was fun because I changed font styles for the different places. I used FolkArt Outdoor Acrylic Paint by Plaid for the letters. Another lucky coincidence? My son is a paper boy so I have lots of brown craft paper to use under my painting projects.

Just before making the last three name signs I realized I wanted a little color on them to make the letters stand out more. So I found some peach color paint and used my pounding brush to apply the color. After the paint was dried, I used a fine grade of sand paper to remove some of the paint to make the wood look a little distressed.

I really liked that effect. When I tried it on some of the pieces I had already painted, the effect did not turn out well. I should have sanded more of the first bit of lettering off. Instead, I soldiered on with a new coat of a pale pink and lettering in the black outside paint. Once it was all dry, I sprayed each board with a clear glaze.

All that was left to do was to have the husband pound nails into the boards while I held them at jaunty angles with the back of the boards level with the 2×4. The finished product looks great. I am not usually successful with projects like this but this time around, I have a winner.

Have you tried any of the ideas you have found on facebook or pintrest and have had success?

Supplies:

Paint Brushes

Fine Grade Sand Paper

Seven thin wood pieces the shape and size of a street sign

Acrylic Craft Paint in your choice of colors for background

FolkArt Outdoor Acrylic Paint by Plaid for the lettering

Clear Glaze Spray Paint

2×4 in the length of your choice

Nails and Hammer

Husband or willing person to use hammer and nails

 

Advertisement

Muddling Through to the New Year

Resolutions

This is the week in which we think and write down those changes we want to make for the coming year.

Image by PPDigital

We want to stop smoking, lose weight, be kinder to those we love. We want to be better humans or maybe prove that we can finish something. There are dreams rumbling in our hearts and brains that want to come out. Goals and end results that want to be made.

Maybe you do it by completing a marathon, finish writing that book, getting that degree, making partner, becoming a doctor.  

Blogs fill the internet with people working on a goal, a list, a quest. It might be Robert reading the Time’s list of the best books of the modern age. Or maybe it is Maura’s list of 36 things to do before her 37th birthday. Then there is one of the most famous quest blogs – that of Julie cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook.

We see others striving and making it. I see people in the film business who cannot do anything but make movies. I admire people who start their businesses and see it through good times and bad. I wish I was that brave.  

I haven’t written my resolution list yet. I know a few things I want on it. Such as having most of my debt gone by the time I reach 50 in two years. Finish the novel that has stalled. Keeping up with my writing group (those people are kick-ass and I love it). Find a sense of purpose because right now I do not have one.

That is the point of resolutions. They give us a direction, something to strive for, a goal. Those ten pounds don’t lose themselves, we have to work at it to make them go away.

Image by Seeman

I say this knowing my oldest is going through the same thing but he is about to turn 20. It is ok for a 20-year-old to feel this way but a 40-something feeling this way is just cliché. Worse yet, I don’t have the money for the little red convertible to go with a mid-life crisis.

While I am muddling through, what I want to know from all of the people who stop by and read my words is how you have gotten through something similar or what resolutions you are planning for this upcoming year.

Happy New Year.

 

Editor Note: I found this post on finding direction on Freshly Pressed today. I really liked it and hope it helps others who are stuck in place for the moment as I am.